Factors causing challenges in learning listening skills faced by first-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -  - NGUYỄN THỊ MINH HẠNH FACTORS CAUSING CHALLENGES IN LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS FACED BY FIRST-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (NHỮNG YẾU TỐ GÂY RA KHÓ KHĂN KHI HỌC NGHE HIỂU CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH NĂM THỨ NHẤT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Hanoi, 2010 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES PART I: INTRODUCTION i ii iii iv vi vii viii 1 Rationale Aims of the study Research questions Significance of the study Scope of the study Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The role of Listening in language Learning and Teaching 1.2 Previous studies in listening problems faced by language learners 1.2.1 In general 1.2.2 In Vietnamese context 1.3 Common potential problems in EFL listening comprehension 1.4 Summary CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 The context of Hanoi University of Industry 10 10 2.1.1 Teachers 10 2.1.2 Students 10 2.1.3 Teaching and learning facilities 11 2.2 Research questions 11 2.3 Target population and sampling 11 2.4 Data Gathering Instruments 12 2.4.1 Student questionnaire 12 v 2.4.2 Teacher interview 13 2.4.3 Classroom observation 13 2.4.4 Document analysis 13 2.5 Data Analysis CHAPTER 3: RESULTS 3.1 Results of the document analysis 14 14 15 3.1.1 The English program for non-English major students at HaUI 15 3.1.2 The website http://haui.vietnamlearning.vn/ 16 3.1.3 The textbook of “New headway Elementary and Pre-intermediate” 16 3.1.4 The types and requirements of listening comprehension activities for nonEnglish major students at HaUI 17 3.2 Analysis of the Questionnaire Data 18 3.2.1 The listening text 18 3.2.2 Listener factors 21 3.2.3 Speaker factors 25 3.2.4 Environmental factors 26 3.2.5 Other factors that affect the learners’ listening comprehension 28 3.2.6 The listening factor that poses the most difficulty for the learners 30 3.3 Analysis of Interview Data 31 3.4 Analysis of the data obtained from observation of the classroom listening environment 34 3.5 Summary of the Results 34 PART III: CONCLUSIONS 36 Conclusions 36 Recommendations 37 Limitations and suggestions for further study 40 References 42 APPENDIXES Appendix A: Questionnaire I Appendix B: Instructor Interview III Appendix C: Observation check list IV